According to respected Osaka-based newspaper Asahi Shimbun (as first reported by The Verge), the PlayStation 4 will retail from ¥40,000 when it is released to consumers later in the year. That figure works out at around $400, €300, or £250 based on today's exchange rates.

Of course, while $400 seems to be a fair asking price for the US market, we don't really think Sony will benevolently bestow its next-generation console on us Brits for a mere £250, so consider these early price indications as guides rather than gospel.

While Asahi didn't state where its information was prised from, it did add that Japan and the US would enjoy access to the PS4 first, after which global rollout would commence - raising the infuriating prospect that the UK market might not see the hardware until 2014.

Elsewhere, a leading Japanese business news source, the Nikkei, released its own report on the PlayStation 4, further corroborating speculation that 20 February is the day keen gamers should be circling. It added that the PS4 would feature cloud technology from Gaikai, who Sony snaffled up for a cool £240 millionin July 2012.